


The Prompt Machine: v.IronHusbands

by singingwithoutwords



Series: The Prompt Machine [4]
Category: Avengers Academy (Video Game), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (every new trope i write is just a new way to be mean to tony), Angst, Fluff, M/M, Tony Feels, Wingfic, demonic replacement, is avac's event schedule still as ridiculous as it was when i wrote this?, like pod people except with demons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 01:06:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17457680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/singingwithoutwords/pseuds/singingwithoutwords
Summary: Tumblr prompt: The team 'teases' Tony over his relationship with Rhodey.  Tony takes it very much to heart.Warning(s):team being accidental jerks, Tony feels





	1. Sticks and Stones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: The team 'teases' Tony over his relationship with Rhodey. Tony takes it very much to heart.
> 
>  **Warning(s):** team being accidental jerks, Tony feels

They don’t mean it.  It’s okay.  They’re just teasing.  Poking fun.  They don’t mean it.  He knows that.

“Are we sure there’s no mind control at work here?”

They don’t mean it.

“Glad to see Rhodes is settling down, emphasis on the  _settling_.”

They’re just teasing.

“Be real, Tony, what are you holding over the poor guy?”

They don’t mean it.

“After all the years he’s put up with you, you’re finally putting out for him?”

It’s just friendly teasing.

“A boyfriend is a big responsibility- maybe you should’ve gotten a houseplant first?”

They don’t mean it.

“Rhodes has been to war- Tony can’t be  _too_  much worse.”

Do they?

“Has anyone nominated Rhodey for sainthood yet?”

They don’t-

“Guess you must be as good in bed as they say.”

Oh, God.

“Just out of curiosity, how much  _are_ you paying him to date you?”

They do.

* * *

The team minus Tony is scattered across the common room in front of the television when Rhodey storms into it, looking for something to hit.  Since he opened the door himself and it now has a bent hinge and there’s a pretty substantial dent in the wall, he gets their immediate attention.

“Would anyone in this room like to explain to me,” he says, doing his best to sound calm and reasonable and - judging by the reactions - failing utterly, “Why Tony just broke up with me?”

They exchange a few bewildered glances.

“More specifically, why Tony just broke up with me because I deserve better and  _everyone on the team knows it_?”

“We never told him anything like that,” Barton says, frowning.

“We never meant anything like that,” Romanov says at the same time.

“You have ten seconds to explain before I go fucking ballistic,” Rhodey warns them.  He doesn’t have homing bracelets for War Machine, but Jarvis can control the suit- it’s only one floor down, and he’s starting to think he’s going to need it.

“We  _may_ have teased him,” Barton confesses.  “Just a little.”

“Define ‘a little’.”

No definition is forthcoming, but they all look varying degrees of uncomfortable.

“If I may, Colonel,” Jarvis speaks up.  “My records show a total of 1,277 disparaging remarks with regard to Sir’s romantic involvement with you, within the Tower.  I cannot speak to any which may have been made beyond my sensors.”

“1,277 times is  _a little_?”

Barton actually starts squirming.  “It’s not like we  _meant_ it!  Tony knows we were just messing with him!”

“1,277 times you told the man he wasn’t good enough for me.  We’ve been dating for two goddamn months.  That’s- Jarvis?”

“Roughly 21 times a day, Colonel,” Jarvis supplies.

“Nearly once a fucking hour.  So literally  _every goddamn hour_  of our relationship you dragged him down, and you’re surprised he started thinking maybe he  _belonged_ where you kept putting him?”

“Tony’s an adult,” Rogers says, clearly still mystified.  “I’m sure he can handle a little teasing.”

Rhodey breaks three bones in his hand punching Captain America in the face.  It feels better than it probably should.

* * *

Jarvis calls Tony’s personal physician, who sets Rhodey's hand on the hallway floor outside Tony’s lab.  Rhodey is not going to lose his best friend and quite possibly the love of his life because the Avengers don’t know when to shut their fucking mouths and just be happy for someone.

He waited nearly 30 years for Tony the first time- he can wait however long it takes this time.


	2. Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: Rhodey/Tony, things you said on our honeymoon
> 
>  **Warning(s)** : high levels of sap

Tony doesn’t believe in words.  Words are cheap and meaningless.  They can be faked so easily, empty and manipulative, and he never uses words when he wants to say something important.

Tony expresses his love in extravagant gifts, in lingering touches and failed attempts at cooking.  His declarations of affection are ridiculous pet names and shy smiles.  His loyalty and devotion are expressions in and of themselves, his trust explicit in the way he relaxes under Rhodey’s hands, boneless and at ease.

Rhodey’s committed them all to memory, each little gesture and sign that means he is loved, is cherished.  There are things Tony has very carefully never said out loud since they started dating, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t shouted them in a hundred silent ways.  Rhodey doesn’t need words.  He thought he did at first, but over the years that’s fallen by the wayside.

Sixteen hours after officially becoming Colonel and Mr. Stark-Rhodes, Rhodey rolls over in a plush hotel bed somewhere in Austria and opens his eyes to find Tony smiling down at him.  He smiles back, and he does not expect Tony to lean down and brush a soft, uncertain kiss against his lips and say, quiet and trembling, “I love you, James.”

Rhodey doesn’t need words, but he knows what a gift these words are, what they mean coming from Tony, so he pulls Tony back down into his arms and whispers into his hair, “I love you, too.”


	3. F(h)air Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: Rhodey/Tony, one playing with the other's hair
> 
> **Warning(s)** : none

It wasn’t, objectively speaking, all that late.  It was nowhere near midnight, barely past 2200, and most days that would not be late to them.  But after two days of near-constant battle against snow monsters across half of Alaska with basically no rest, even noon would feel late.

The jet was crowded, with the entire team crammed into it for the trip home.  Banner was asleep in the corner with a tired-eyed Barton next to him.  Romanov was curled in the pilot’s chair, resting but probably not actually asleep.  Thor and Rogers seemed to take up half the remaining space between them, Rogers on the bench and Thor sprawled at his feet, speaking to him quietly.

Iron Man was stored, stashed out of sight in a compartment behind where War Machine stood, equally empty and eerily still.  Rhodey himself was half-lying on the bench opposite Rogers while Tony paced the narrow strip of open floorspace, too keyed up to rest no matter how badly he needed to.

Rhodey caught Tony’s hand as he passed and tugged gently on it, too tired for words.  JARVIS had control of the jet, they still had a few hours before they reached home, and even in his hazy state of exhaustion, Rhodey couldn’t help but try and look after his man.

Tony sighed, more relieved than put-upon, and managed a graceful sort of collapse to the floor.  He leaned against the bench, resting his head on Rhodey’s hip, and closed his eyes, still holding loosely to his hand.

Rhodey shifted around a bit and lifted his free hand, burying it in Tony’s greasy, sweat-damp hair.  Tony huffed as Rhodey combed his nails lightly across his scalp, finally letting some of the tension drop from his shoulders.

“Cheater,” Tony accused softly.  It sounded loud in the near-silence of the jet, but not jarring; none of the others who were still awake even bothered to look up.

Rhodey hummed agreeably, continuing to run his fingers through Tony’s hair from forehead to as far back as he could reach, watching as Tony relaxed bit by bit, eyes fluttering closed.  It took several minutes for Tony to finally ease into sleep.  Rhodey didn’t stop until he, too, drifted off.  They slept the rest of the way home, and woke up curled around each other in their bed the next morning, with Rhodey’s hand once again buried in Tony’s hair.


	4. Going Off Schedule

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr sentence prompt: “great. perfect. nice. fuck this.”
> 
> **warning(s):** mild language  
>  **note:** This fic is set in the Avengers Academy mobile game universe.

 

Rhodey crossed his arms, gazing up almost impassively at the latest ridiculous monstrosity to have landed next to Avengers Academy.  He breathed in. Held it. Exhaled.

“Great,“ he said.  “Perfect. Nice. Fuck this.“

“Rhodey bear, where are you going?“ Tony asked, watching Rhodey uncross his arms and start toward the gate.  “Sweetie pie, you better not be doing what I think you’re doing.“ Rhodey ignored him, continuing his advance toward Creepy Metal Castle of Unknown Ownership.  “Rhodey!“

Rhodey continued to ignore him, so Tony took off after him, quickly catching up and grabbing his arm.

“Halt!  No attacking the villain of the month alone!“

“Yes, attacking the villain of the month alone,“ Rhodey replied.  “We have a date. A date which has been on the books for  _ months _ because we have to keep rescheduling it because people keep attacking this school.“

By now they’d reached the drawbridge, where a mook in armor was waiting.  Rhodey buried a gauntleted fist in its visor without breaking stride.

“I am sick and tired of this,“ he continued, blasting another mook through a wall as he stalked his way further into the castle.  “I want to go two days in a row without being attacked,“ he said, kicking a door down and stomping through its splintered remains.  “I want to make one damn date with you and be able to  _ actually go on that date _ .“

“I know, Platypus, I’m frustrated, too,“ Tony assured him, repulsoring the slightly-more-ornately-armored mook that tried to brain Rhodey with its mace.  “But-“

“No buts,“ Rhodey interrupted, obliterating what turned out to be the doors to the throne room.  “I don’t care who I have to punch in the face: this invasion stops right now because we have a date in four hours, and I am  _ not _ rescheduling it!“

The young woman on the throne, dressed in her Evil Arthurian Witch best, stared down at them, eyes darting from Rhodey to Tony to her destroyed doors to the trail of downed armor in the hall and back again.

“Um,“ she said.  “Oh, wait, is this  _ Avengers _ Academy?“ she asked with obviously fake surprise and an edge of mortal terror.  “Oh, wow, this is so embarrassing. I’m at completely the wrong school! Can you believe that?  I’m so silly sometimes. My bad. Complete accident, I swear! I’ll just- I’ll just go.“

“You do that,“ Rhodey said, turning on his heel and heading back the way he came.  Mooks fled in terror.

As soon as they were both back on solid ground, the entire castle vanished in a flash of purple lightning, leaving them alone at the campus gate.

“So,“ Tony said after a beat of silence.  “Any objection to starting our date a bit early?“

Rhodey laughed, grinning at him.  “None whatsoever.”


	5. The Little Things (Give You Away)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fictober prompt: gaze
> 
> **warning(s):** general creepiness

 

There was something wrong with Tony.

There was no change in his behavior.  His voice sounded the same, and he said the same things he normally would.  He didn’t move any differently, or develop any sudden new obsessions. The only thing that changed at all was the look in his eyes.

There was something in Tony’s eyes that was… not dead.  Apathetic was a better word. A serene sort of indifference that was completely at odds with every aspect of Tony Rhodey had ever known.  Even directed at someone else, that uncaring stare sent shivers down his spine.

He was still allowed in the workshop, since Tony would never have banned him and whatever was walking around pretending to be Tony knew it.

He played the thing’s game long enough to get it down there alone, but he refused to play past that point.  “Who are you, and where’s Tony?”

“I am Tony,” ‘Tony’ insisted, with a smile that didn’t even come close to reaching his eyes.

“That’s not the way Tony looks at me,” Rhodey snapped.  “Who the hell are you, and where the hell is Tony? I’m not asking again.”

“C’mon, honey bear-”

“Don’t call me that.  And drop the act: I know you’re not him.  Stop wasting both our times and tell me what you did with my husband.”

The imposter sighed, shaking his head.  “This is the problem with you humans,” he commented.  “You’re all so tediously emotional. ‘ _ That’s not the way he looks at me _ ’.  Unbelievable.”

“ _ Where is Tony? _ ”

“Safe.  I can’t maintain his form if he dies, after all.”

“Can’t maintain it if  _ you _ die, either,” Rhodey pointed out, and the impostor smiled.

“Fair enough.  But my work on this plane isn’t done yet, and I can’t exactly accomplish anything while you’re around to kick up a fuss.”

“Don’t you fucking da-”

Whatever this fake Tony was, he definitely wasn’t human; it took the space of maybe half a blink before he was across the workshop, inches away from Rhodey, still smiling.

“You should be thanking me,” he said.  “I’m sending you to keep your precious Tony company.”  He wrapped his hands around Rhodey’s wrists, and the disinterest in his gaze gave way to something cruel.  “Take a deep breath,  _ honey bear _ : this is going to hurt.”


	6. Try Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: ““We still have tomorrow.“ + busy training grounds”
> 
> **warning(s):** mentioned major injury, loss of limbs

 

“I can’t do this.”

“Tony-“

“No,“ Tony interrupted, shaking his head.  “I can’t do this. I can’t. Don’t make me.“

Rhodey sighed.  “Tones, you know you have to.  You need the exercise.”

“ _ I can’t _ ,“ Tony repeated, taking a step back, further away from the arena entrance, and it was probably only Rhodey’s grip on his hand that kept him from running away altogether.

“Why not?“

“It’s in use, buttercup,” Tony said.  “I can’t- once they’re done, once it’s not being used- I’ll go then.“

“There’s plenty of space still, and no one’s gonna mind if-“

Tony’s response was to pull further away, cupping his wings protectively over himself.  His new wings, unpolished unpainted metal and exposed wiring because they weren’t quite finished.  Tony needed to work with them to figure out what still needed fixing before he could fabricate the final set.  This pair was just the latest prototype, and it  _ looked _ it.

And Tony put up a brash, uncaring front, but if strangers saw him like this and reacted badly - or even in a way that could be misconstrued as badly - then Tony in his current mental state…

“I can’t,“ Tony said once more from behind a shield of dull metal feathers.  “I’m sorry.“

“Hey,“ Rhodey said quietly, tapping on the nearest primary, spreading his own golden-brown wings around them, “lemme in there?“

Tony let his wings relax with a slight whine of servos, just enough that Rhodey could see him staring at the ground. “I can’t,” he whispered.

“I know, sweetheart,“ Rhodey said, budging his way close enough to pull Tony into a hug, sighing into his hair.  “I won’t make you. We still have tomorrow, and I’ll make sure no one else is scheduled when we are, okay?“

Tony nodded against Rhodey’s shoulders, his wings finally relaxing to an almost natural angle.  The rest of him seemed to relax, too, at ease for maybe the first time since Rhodey’d almost flown right by him in the desert because he’d been looking for brilliant white wings.


End file.
